The invention relates in general to munitions, and in particular to compliance with Insensitive Munitions (IM) standards.
IM standards require that, to the extent practicable, munitions are safe when subjected to unplanned stimuli. Shoulder-launched single-use weapons are problematic because the weapon is packaged and stored with the projectile (and warhead) already loaded in the weapon. When exposed to unplanned external stimuli, single-use shoulder-launched munitions may fail IM requirements. For example, an unplanned stimulus may ignite the propellant in the single-use shoulder-launched weapon, thereby launching the projectile and activating the arming sequence of the warhead. If the warhead arms, it may detonate on impact (IM Type I detonation reaction). An IM Type V burning reaction is required to pass most IM requirements, but can be very difficult to achieve. Thus, an improvement from a Type I detonation to a Type IV deflagration reaction is desirable if it may be easily achieved.
Known munition cans or containers have several forms, including boxes and tubes. Some of these cans have IM features that: 1) provide for the venting of gases; 2) provide ballistic protection; or 3) provide insulation to delay the reaction time so other IM features may be utilized. Ballistic protection against fragment impact is often costly in terms of both packaging cost and logistical cost (weight, volume). Venting and insulation alone are often not sufficient, and additional IM features must be built into the weapon. The additional IM features may not be feasible due to cost and technical difficulty. While there are known methods to contain exploding ammunition, none of the known methods can contain a projectile with an exploding warhead after it is launched from a weapon.
A need exists for an apparatus and method for achieving at least a Type IV deflagration reaction when a projectile is launched from a weapon by unplanned stimuli. The solution must be relatively low in cost and have minimal logistical impact.